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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

寄友三首

Three Lyrics Sent to a Friend

司空图

Sikong Tu

花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。
睡损梅妆。
红泪今春第一行。
风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。
共折垂杨。
手拈芳条说夜长。

At flowering time she frets until the jade bough grows thin,
half covered in lingering fragrance.
Sleep has worn away her plum-blossom makeup;
a line of red tears, the first of this spring.
Where gallant, laughing companions meet,
white horses with idle reins.
Together we break a drooping willow;
a fragrant sprig in hand, we talk of how long the night is.
Listen

Meaning

Sent to a friend, the lyric joins two worlds. In the first, a woman grieves through the flowering season — her plum-blossom makeup worn away by sleep, the spring's first tears already fallen. In the second, the poet remembers gallant companions meeting on horseback, breaking willow branches together and talking till dawn. The delicate sorrow of the opening is answered by the warmth of friendship: longing for the absent friend suffuses both halves.

花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。睡损梅妆。红泪今春第一行。风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。共折垂杨。手拈芳条说夜长。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The lyric runs in two stanzas: enclosed sorrow, then open companionship. [Imagery] The first stanza's world is still — a jade bough grown thin, fading fragrance, smudged makeup, red tears; the second's moves — laughing riders, white horses with idle reins, willows broken by many hands. [Allusion] 'Plum-blossom makeup' recalls the Southern Dynasties court fashion; 'red tears' is the classical word for parting grief; the willow is the emblem of farewell. [Structure] The four-character lines ('half covered in lingering fragrance', 'sleep has worn away her plum-blossom makeup', 'white horses with idle reins', 'together we break a drooping willow') act like refrains, giving the lyric its song-like pulse. [Theme] The closing 'talking of how long the night is' fuses both worlds: the long night of separation becomes the long night of friendship, and sorrow is not erased but companioned.

【白话串讲】 司空图写《寄友三首》：“花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。睡损梅妆。红泪今春第一行”——“风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。共折垂杨。手拈芳条说夜长”——他寄友——手拈芳条说夜长。 【意象与手法】 “花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。睡损梅妆。红泪今春第一行”写花时伤怀；“风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。共折垂杨。手拈芳条说夜长”写相逢折柳。婉约抒情。 【情感与主旨】 司空图写寄友怀人之作，写花时伤怀与相逢折柳说夜长的情谊，是司空图词中婉约抒情的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“花时恼得琼枝瘦”写花时伤怀；“手拈芳条说夜长”写相逢折柳。

Background

Sikong Tu (837–908), from Yuxiang in Jiangzhong (modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), is remembered above all as a theorist — his 'Twenty-Four Categories of Poetry' remains the most influential single work of Tang poetics — but he was also a late Tang official who, after the dynasty's fall, retired to his Wanggu valley and starved to death rather than serve the Later Liang. His surviving poems are few, and this small lyric, addressed to a friend, belongs to the graceful late-Tang manner: it borrows the Huajian (Among the Flowers) boudoir voice for its first half, then answers it with male camaraderie — a blend typical of the period's most personal short lyrics.

《寄友三首》为唐代诗人司空图所作词。司空图（837—908），字表圣，河中虞乡人，唐代诗人、诗论家。此词写怀人抒情，为寄友之作。词中「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」写花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香；「睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行」写睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行；「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」写风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰；「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」写共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长。司空图此词以怀人抒情、手拈芳条说夜长写其抒情之情，婉约抒情，是司空图词中的名篇。此篇《寄友三首》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《寄友三首》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The lyric's whole effect rests on contrast. The first stanza is enclosed: flowers that fret the sleeper, makeup worn away in sleep, the first red tears of spring — a still life of grief, with red as its only color. The second stanza opens outward: laughing companions, white horses, reins left loose, willows broken together — motion and company, with white as its color. The pivot is the word 'together': the first stanza suffers alone, the second acts as a group. Diction is delicate and deliberate: 'jade bough' for the flowering tree and the woman who thins with it, 'lingering fragrance' for spring at its midpoint, 'fragrant sprig' for the willow still in hand as talk runs into the small hours. Even rhyme and short, repeated line lengths give the piece the smoothness of song.

此词艺术上以「婉约抒情、以梅写情」见长。全词共六句，由花时恼得琼枝瘦而睡损梅妆而风流笑伴相逢处。起「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」写花时恼得琼枝瘦：花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香；「睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行」写睡损梅妆：睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行；「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」写风流笑伴相逢处：风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰；结「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」写手拈芳条说夜长：共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长。全词以梅写情，由花时恼得琼枝瘦而手拈芳条说夜长，婉约抒情，是司空图词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

'Plum-blossom makeup' is the plum-flower forehead ornament imitated from Princess Shouyang of the Southern Dynasties, on whose forehead a plum blossom once settled; worn away by sleep, it records nights of weeping. 'Red tears' goes back to the tale of Lady Xue of the Wei court, whose parting tears from her parents stained her sleeves red as blood — since then the standard phrase for a woman's bitter weeping. 'White horses with idle reins' pictures the gallant riders of the old songs; the drooping willow, because 'willow' (liu) sounds like 'stay' (liu), is the emblem of parting, and breaking a willow (zhe liu) at farewell is an ancient custom. 'The long night' is both the night that runs long with talk and the long nights of separation the talk defies.

词中「花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香」「睡损梅妆红泪今春第一行」「风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰」「共折垂杨手拈芳条说夜长」等语，皆含典故故实。「花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香」写花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香；「睡损梅妆红泪今春第一行」用梅妆之典（梅妆写梅花妆），写睡损梅妆红泪今春第一行；「风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰」写风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰；「共折垂杨手拈芳条说夜长」写共折垂杨手拈芳条说夜长。词人用梅妆之典入词，不着痕迹，而把怀人抒情之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Because Sikong Tu's fame rests on his prose about poetry, his own verse is often read through his theory — and this lyric is a neat illustration of the 'refined, subtle' category he prized: nothing overstated, grief and warmth held in balance. Later anthologists included it among the late Tang short lyrics for its graceful diction; the two-stanza contrast of a woman's sorrow against remembered companionship gives the 'sent to a friend' title its double meaning — the poem both mourns parting and performs friendship. Its closing gesture, twirling a willow sprig while the night runs long, has become a favorite small image of Tang lyric: the farewell custom turned into a token of company, and the long night filled with talk instead of tears.

这首《寄友三首》，是司空图写怀人抒情之作，写花时恼得琼枝瘦、睡损梅妆、风流笑伴相逢处、手拈芳条说夜长之情，婉约抒情。起「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」——花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。写花时恼得琼枝瘦：花时恼得琼枝瘦、半被残香——琼枝瘦、半被残香；「睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行」——睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行。写睡损梅妆：睡损梅妆、红泪今春第一行——睡损梅妆、第一行；「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」——风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。写风流笑伴相逢处：风流笑伴相逢处、白马游缰——相逢处、白马游缰；结「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」——共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长。写手拈芳条说夜长：共折垂杨、手拈芳条说夜长——折垂杨、说夜长。这「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」，是全词之结：以手拈芳条说夜长写其抒情。全词婉约抒情，以梅写情，正是司空图词中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Short lyric (xiaoling) in two stanzas, with mixed line lengths of seven, four, and eight syllables, rhyming throughout.词（小令）
Rhyme Rhymes on the level-tone 'yang' group: xiang 'fragrance', xing 'line' (read hang), jiang 'reins', yang 'willow', chang 'long' — a soft, sustained resonance that gives the lyric its song-like, lingering quality.此词为小令。押韵：「香」「行」「缰」「杨」「长」等部。句句自然流转，声情婉约，正与写怀人抒情的婉约抒情相称，也见其以小令写抒情的流转。
Tone pattern The design is musical: four-character lines ('half covered in lingering fragrance', 'sleep has worn away her plum-blossom makeup', 'white horses with idle reins', 'together we break a drooping willow') alternate with longer seven- and eight-syllable lines, a pulse of pause and flow. Red (tears) against white (horses) marks the turn from enclosed sorrow to open companionship.句式上，「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」写花时恼得琼枝瘦，音节婉约；「睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行」写睡损梅妆，音节低回；「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」写风流笑伴相逢处，音节悠长；结「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」写手拈芳条说夜长，音节婉转。全词音节随情起伏，由婉约而低回、由悠长而婉转，正合小令「流转」之妙，读来如怀人抒情、手拈芳条说夜长之音，婉约而动人。
Reading note A small lyric in an even, unhurried measure: the four-character lines act as refrains while the longer lines unfold, and the unbroken single rhyme keeps the mood continuous — the only drama is the shift from the boudoir to the open road. Read the first stanza slow and low, the second with a lifted pace; the horses' reins should be heard to loosen.此词为小令，是司空图写怀人抒情之作，也是其词中的名篇。全词的艺术特色在于「婉约抒情、以梅写情」：「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」写花时恼得琼枝瘦、「睡损梅妆，红泪今春第一行」写睡损梅妆、「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」写风流笑伴相逢处、「共折垂杨，手拈芳条说夜长」写手拈芳条说夜长。全词婉约抒情，以梅写情。尤为精妙者，是「睡损梅妆」用梅妆之典；而「手拈芳条说夜长」写尽说夜长，正是司空图词「婉约抒情」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《寄友三首》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。

At flowering time she frets until the jade bough grows thin, half covered in lingering fragrance.

花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香。

In flower time, the jade branches are fretted thin; half covered with the lingering scent.

起句写花时恼得琼枝瘦，起笔即见其琼枝。「花时恼得琼枝瘦」写花时恼得琼枝瘦，「花时恼得」写花时恼得、「琼枝瘦」写琼枝瘦；「半被残香」写半被残香，「半被」写半被、「残香」写残香。一句写花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香，以花时恼得琼枝瘦写琼枝瘦、以半被残香写半被残香，写尽花时恼得琼枝瘦、半被残香之情。以花起兴，婉约而抒情，是「以花起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes the jade branches fretted thin in flower time, the start. 'In flower time, the jade branches are fretted thin' — the slender branches worn by longing; 'half covered with the lingering scent' — the remnant fragrance on the half-folded quilt. Rising through the flower, restrained and lyrical, the start of the love lyric.

睡损梅妆。

Sleep has worn away her plum-blossom makeup.

睡损梅妆。

The plum-blossom makeup is rumpled by sleep.

此句写睡损梅妆，是全词写梅妆之态的关键。「睡损梅妆」用梅妆之典写睡损梅妆，「睡损」写睡损、「梅妆」写梅妆。一句写睡损梅妆，以睡损写睡损、以梅妆写梅妆，写尽睡损梅妆之情。以妆写情，婉约而抒情，是「以妆写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes the plum-blossom makeup rumpled by sleep, the key image. It alludes to the plum-blossom makeup, the ancient custom of a beauty's face; 'rumpled by sleep' the creased, faded ornament after a long night. Through the makeup it writes the feeling, restrained and lyrical, the fleeting detail that carries the whole longing.

风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。

Where gallant, laughing companions meet, white horses with idle reins.

风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰。

Where the gallant laughing companions met, the white horse's reins are loose.

此句写风流笑伴相逢处，是全词写相逢之态的关键。「风流笑伴相逢处」写风流笑伴相逢处，「风流笑伴」写风流笑伴、「相逢处」写相逢处；「白马游缰」写白马游缰，「白马」写白马、「游缰」写游缰。一句写风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰，以风流笑伴相逢处写相逢处、以白马游缰写白马游缰，写尽风流笑伴相逢处、白马游缰之情。以逢写情，婉约而抒情，是「以逢写情」的点睛之笔。

This line writes the place where the gallant laughing companions met, the key image. 'Where the gallant laughing companions met' — the remembered meeting; 'the white horse's reins are loose' — the rider idling on his white horse. Through the meeting it writes the feeling, restrained and lyrical, the remembered scene of the old comrades.

共折垂杨。

Together we break a drooping willow.

共折垂杨。

Together we plucked the drooping willow.

此句写共折垂杨，是全词写垂杨之态的关键。「共折垂杨」写共折垂杨，「共折」写共折、「垂杨」写垂杨。一句写共折垂杨，以共折写共折、以垂杨写垂杨，写尽共折垂杨之情。以杨写情，婉约而抒情，是「以杨写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes 'together we plucked the drooping willow', the key image. The willow, at parting, is plucked and given; 'together' the old companions' shared gesture. Through the willow it writes the feeling, restrained and lyrical, the parting rite now recalled in longing.

手拈芳条说夜长。

A fragrant sprig in hand, we talk of how long the night is.

手拈芳条说夜长。

Hand holding a fragrant sprig, we spoke of the long night.

结句写手拈芳条说夜长，是全词立意的落点。「手拈芳条」写手拈芳条，「手拈」写手拈、「芳条」写芳条；「说夜长」写说夜长，「说」写说、「夜长」写夜长。一句写手拈芳条说夜长，以手拈芳条写芳条、以说夜长写说夜长，写尽手拈芳条说夜长之情。以条写情，婉约而抒情，是全词最动人处，也是「以条写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The closing line writes hand holding a fragrant sprig, speaking of the long night, the poem's landing. 'Hand holding a fragrant sprig' the lingering gesture; 'we spoke of the long night' the low words of the remembered evening. Through the sprig it writes the feeling, restrained and lyrical, the poem's most moving point: the hand holding the sprig, and the long night that will not end.

Study

Word focus

琼枝 Jade branch: the flowering tree, and by extension the blooming woman who thins with it. 'Jade' lends luxury to the scene; her fretting has made even the bough seem to grow thin — the classic late-Tang fusion of woman and flower. 「琼枝」写花时恼得琼枝瘦，是写琼枝之态的关键。「花时恼得琼枝瘦」着一「琼枝」，写琼枝——着一「琼枝」，写花时恼得琼枝瘦，见其枝之琼。两字写尽琼枝之态，是「以词写枝」的妙笔。「琼枝」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
残香 Lingering fragrance of fading blossoms: half the bough still covered in scent, half already past — the exact midpoint of spring, and of a grief neither fresh nor spent. 「残香」写半被残香，是写残香之态的关键。「半被残香」着一「残香」，写残香——着一「残香」，写半被残香，见其香之残。两字写尽残香之态，是「以词写香」的点睛之词。「残香」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
梅妆 Plum-blossom makeup: the plum-flower forehead ornament imitated from Princess Shouyang of the Southern Dynasties. Worn away by sleep, it records the woman's nights of weeping; grief is written in cosmetics. 「梅妆」写睡损梅妆，是写梅妆之态的关键。「睡损梅妆」着一「梅妆」，写梅妆——着一「梅妆」，写睡损梅妆，见其妆之梅。两字写尽梅妆之态，是「以词写妆」的点睛之词。「梅妆」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
垂杨 Drooping willow: 'willow' (liu) sounds like 'stay' (liu), and breaking a willow at parting (zhe liu) is an old farewell custom. Broken here among friends rather than at a parting, the willow turns farewell's emblem into a token of company. 「垂杨」写共折垂杨，是写垂杨之态的关键。「共折垂杨」着一「垂杨」，写垂杨——着一「垂杨」，写共折垂杨，见其杨之垂。两字写尽垂杨之态，是「以词写杨」的点睛之词。「垂杨」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Water Melody Song (written at Mid-Autumn while drinking) 苏轼 · 同写抒情感怀、婉约旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香，皆于抒情之中见婉约 Both are lyrics of feeling and festival-night longing: Su Shi's is grand and consoling, Sikong Tu's delicate and lingering.

Su Shi rises from personal sorrow to cosmic consolation ('may we live long, though a thousand li apart, sharing this moon'); Sikong Tu stays small — smudged makeup, a willow sprig, a long night's talk. Both end in night: Su Shi's night is shared with the moon, Sikong Tu's with a friend's voice.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写抒情感怀、婉约旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；司空图《寄友三首》则以「花时恼得琼枝瘦，半被残香」「手拈芳条说夜长」写半被残香、说夜长。两词同写抒情感怀、婉约旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写花时恼得琼枝瘦半被残香、以琼枝写抒情；一为苏轼之旷达、一为司空图之婉约，并读正可见词写「抒情感怀」的两种笔法，皆于抒情之中见婉约。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of the Ganzhou Song (to the tune 'Eight Sounds of Ganzhou') 柳永 · 同写垂杨凝望、婉约清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰，皆于垂杨之中见凝望 Both are graceful (wan-yue) lyrics of gazing and longing; Liu Yong's is the traveler's, Sikong Tu's the boudoir's and the friend's.

Liu Yong's traveler 'cannot bear to climb the height and gaze far — his homeland is remote, his homing thoughts ungatherable'; Sikong Tu's speaker frets in blossom season, then rides out to meet laughing companions. Both are wan-yue grace, but Liu Yong's sorrow is public and sweeping, Sikong Tu's small, perfumed, and finally warmed by friendship.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写垂杨凝望、婉约清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；司空图《寄友三首》则以「风流笑伴相逢处，白马游缰」「共折垂杨」写相逢处、折垂杨。两词同写垂杨凝望、婉约清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写风流笑伴相逢处白马游缰、以垂杨写抒情；一为柳永之清丽、一为司空图之婉约，并读正可见词写「垂杨凝望」的两种笔法，皆于垂杨之中见凝望。